New Kony video gets warmer reception

Invisible Children's follow-up to its widely seen Kony video is receiving a better reception from analysts than the first one did.

But it has received a fraction of the media coverage the first one achieved.

The first video, released a month ago, focused on the activities of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda and its neighbours.

The idea was to 'get Kony', whose rebel group has been involved in widespread human rights abuses.

Critics said the video contained inaccuracies, and had come several years too late.

Invisible Children says the second video is meant to address the criticisms.

Kony 2012 Part Two starts off with a montage of media coverage of the original video.

It features footage of politicians in The United States, The UK and Africa talking about how much they like the campaign.

There is also a broad message about the need for people to come together and combat injustice.

Specialists and researchers who focus on Africa are still critical of Invisible Children.

Andrew Manners completed a paper on the LRA for the independent thinktank, Future Directions International.

Mr Manners says the second video is better than the first, but there is a lot that is not clear.

"Obviously there were all those claims of propaganda attached to the first one but the second one seems a lot more levelled, and less emotional," he said.

"The effect of the first one, or its aim was to get people angry and emotive and this one is a follow-up of that which I guess contextualises it a bit, and puts it in perspective and gives a bit of a run down on what people can do.

"The first one was about making him famous, I guess."

Mr Manners believes the second video effectively addresses one particular criticism, in that Invisible Children gave the impression the LRA was still operating in Uganda.

He says the LRA was a much more serious problem 10 years ago and currently poses little, if any threat to the people of Uganda from its current spread in neighbouring countries.

"They still have a propensity to wreak havoc and violence and stuff like that and they are still committing terrible crimes, but compared to other conflicts in Africa and the world, I think it pales in comparison."

He says one of the most perplexing things about the campaign is the suggestion people around the world can have an impact.

Mr Manners says he does not know what Australians could expect from their own leaders regarding Kony.

"Certainly sending troops there or something like that would be unprecedented," he said.

"And you don't want to set a dangerous precedent of the US sending in troops over some viral video really."

Andrew Manners suggests the US would be very reluctant to commit a large number of soldiers.

"Obviously one of the aims of the video was to keep up that pressure and to make sure those 100 military advisers stay there on the ground and keep up their efforts."

Mr Manners believes the military forces of Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo would have an interest in destroying Kony's remnant LRA, but Sudan would not.

But while he thinks it would be a good thing if the viral video campaign led to a concerted, co-ordinated military campaign to 'get Kony', he believes it is unlikely.